In addition to Study Abroad opportunities, Grady College offers incredible experiences for students within the US. The ADPR NYC Maymester program provides students an opportunity to learn what working life is like in the advertising, public relations, and creative communications industries. For one week during this program, students travel to New York City to visit some of the world’s top creative communications agencies to gain a real-time feel for the agency landscape and daily work environment.
While in New York, you’ll be invited inside the hallowed halls to experience a firsthand look at traditional and nontraditional ad agencies; PR firms; and media branding, interactive, consumer culture, and viral content companies.
Agency Visits
Agencies that students visit change year to year depending on availability. In previous years, students have been able to meet with leading professionals from places such as, Saatchi & Saatchi, Translation, McGarry Bowen, McCann-Erickson, Amp3, Weber Shandwick, Agent16, TBWA, Interbrand, Lucky Branded Entertainment, Ketchum, BBDO, PHD, Mother, Razorfish, Cosmopolitan, Spotify, and Tribal DDB, among others.
Program Dates
Summer 2024 dates are TBD:
This program operates in Maymester each year. Dates for Summer 2023 are May 16 – June 6, 2023, with the trip to NYC from May 21 – May 27, 2023.
The first and last week of this program are conducted at UGA in Athens, GA for preparation, course work, and reflection. The second week is held in New York City for agency visits and networking events.
The Course
The course taught on the ADPR NYC Maymester program is ADPR 5991 – Seminar in Advertising and Public Relations. This course, along with the trip to NYC, counts for 3 upper-level elective credits. During the course, students will learn valuable job seeking skills- such as creating/updating resumes, tailoring Linkedin profiles, interviewing skills, in addition to learning the ins and outs of various different advertising and public relations agencies.
Who Can Apply?
The ADPR NYC Maymester program typically takes up to 16 students each year. These students can be involved in undergraduate or graduate studies. The program is open to UGA students with a GPA of 3.0 or higher. There are no pre-requisites for this course, however preference is given to those interested in advertising or public relations.
Apply to the ADPR NYC Maymester Program
Applications open in August of each year. Applications for Summer 2024 are due Friday, November 10th, 2023.
To apply, click the “Apply now” button, which will direct you to UGA’s Office of Global Engagement’s StudyAway Portal. If you have any questions about the application process, contact Rebekah Seabolt, Grady’s Global Studies Program Manager, at rryan26@uga.edu.
Dr. Strausbaugh-Hutchinson teaches Advertising Message Strategy, Advanced Portfolio, Graphic Communication, and Advertising Campaigns. She serves as faculty advisor to the UGA AdClub, the student-run ad agency Hooper Sanford Baldwin Thomas, and the design house Studio120. Her instructional activities, in conjunction with these student-run organizations, are designed to promote advertising as a major and to provide students with exposure to professionals and issues in the field. Additionally, she coordinates and serves as faculty escort for the AdClub’s annual New York Agency Tour.
Rebekah R. Seabolt, Global Studies Program Manager
Program Staff
Rebekah R. Seabolt has been Grady College’s Global Studies Program Manager since August 2016. She earned a bachelor of arts in public health from Georgia College and State University in 2011 and a master of arts in public relations from the University of Georgia in 2016. As the Global Studies Program Manager, Rebekah is the point of contact for all of Grady College’s study abroad and domestic field study programs.
